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Russia halts import of tra and basa from Vietnam
Russia, which is considered an easy-to-please market, has announced the halt of importing tra and basa fish from Vietnam, which will increase difficulties for catfish farmers in Cuu Long River Delta.
Prior to that, farmers and seafood producers have been suffering from the sharp decreases in consumption from key markets, including the US and Europe, due to the global economic crisis.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has sent a document to local departments, informing that the Russian Federal Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance Services (VPSS) has announced its halt of importing tra and basa fish from Vietnam, as of December 20, 2008.
The Russian side has cited several reasons for its decision to halt importing fish from Vietnam. One of the reasons is that Vietnam’s tra and basa products contain microorganisms and impurities.
The information has, immediately, made Vietnamese farmers puzzled, especially when the consumption now is very weak, and the fish price always stays at low levels
In 2007, Vietnam only had 16 consignments of exports to Russia, which were found as having problems in quality, while the figure was 38 consignments in 2008, including 27 consignments of tra and basa. This shows that Vietnamese companies have not paid appropriate attention to the quality of exports, though the Russia market now consumes up to 14.4% of tra and basa filets exports, just after Europe, which consumes 39.2%.
Europe and US have always been considered as difficult-to-please markets. Therefore, Vietnamese companies have been trying to ensure the best quality products to be exported to these markets. Meanwhile, they have not paid appropriate attention to the quality of the exports to Russia, which is considered an easy-to-please market.
According to Duong Nghia Quoc, Deputy Director of the Dong Thap Department for Agriculture and Rural Development, and Chairman of the provincial Aquaculture Association, the Russian side has refused imports after checking some consignments and discovering problems in food hygiene.
Meanwhile, Nguyen Van Thanh, Director of the An Giang Department for Agriculture and Rural Development, has raised a question regarding why Nafiquaved (the National Fisheries Quality and Veterinary Directorate) did not know about the quality of the problematic exports before they were shipped to Russia. Under the current regulations, all the consignments of tra and basa fish must be examined by Nafiqaved before they are exported
In 2007, the high profit of catfish farming encouraged farmers of Cuu Long River Delta to rush to breed tra and basa, which has caused the imbalance between aquaculture and processing. Cuu Long River Delta has seen the export volume increase by 68%, but the profit has not been as high, as the average export price in 2008 was just a little higher than $2/kg, the lowest level of the past several years.
TBKTVN
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